East Idaho Times

U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, both Republicans from Idaho, along with Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, have reintroduced the Major Richard Star Act. This bipartisan legislation aims to provide full military benefits to combat-injured veteran retirees.

Senator Crapo emphasized the importance of this act by stating, "The Major Richard Star Act corrects a severe injustice for combat-wounded veterans." He further expressed his commitment to pushing for its passage on behalf of more than 50,000 veterans who stand to benefit from it.

Senator Risch highlighted the sacrifices made by veterans and criticized the penalization of their retirement benefits due to injuries sustained during service. "The Major Richard Star Act protects the entirety of veterans’ earned benefits and gives our nation’s heroes the respect they deserve," he said.

Blumenthal pointed out that many combat-injured veterans are currently denied full military benefits. "This measure corrects one of the deepest injustices in our present veterans’ disability system," he remarked.

Under current policy, only those with disability ratings above 50 percent and over 20 years of service receive full U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) retirement and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability payments. The Major Richard Star Act seeks to change this by providing full VA disability and DOD retirement payments to all retired combat veterans.

The act is named after Major Richard A. Star, a decorated war veteran who was forced into medical retirement due to combat-related injuries and later died from cancer in February 2021. The bill has garnered support from 43 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate.

In addition, Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida) and Raul Ruiz (D-California) have introduced companion legislation in the House with backing from 185 bipartisan co-sponsors.

Numerous organizations support this effort, including major associations representing various branches of military service members and veterans' groups such as Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), among others.